The Wonders

Director: Alice Rohrwacher

2014 / 110min / DCP

Inspired loosely by Rohrwacher’s memories of “alternative” family life, her warm, affectionate, splendidly textured The Wonders takes place on an off-the-grid Tuscan bee farm manned by a taskmaster patriarch (Sam Louwyck), his wife (Alba Rohrwacher, the director’s sister), and their daughters—one of whom, 12-year-old Gelsomina (Maria Alexandra Lungu), disturbs the delicate family ecosystem when she develops an interest in a television reality show, Countryside Wonders, that’s embarking on a search for the most authentic local foods. “A diffuse and quietly charming coming-of-age story… Ms. Rohrwacher’s strengths here are the tender intimacy of the performances.”—Manohla Dargis, The New York Times